State House orders suspension of two CEOs after CS Wahome refusal to act
Head of Public Service Felix Koskei orders suspension of Athi Water CEO Michael Thuita over corruption in CS Wahome – PS Rono row.
Head of Public Service and State House Chief of Staff Felix Koskei has ordered that the board of the Athi Water Works Development Agency suspend Michael Thuita, the agency’s chief executive officer, pending investigations into alleged irregularities in the awarding of the tender for the construction of the Ruiru II, Karimenu, and Kitui Matuu water projects.
This comes as questions were raised over Water CS Alice Wahome delay in suspending Thuita following allegations of misuse of public funds.
In addition, Koskei has asked the board of the Central Rift Valley Water Works Development Agency to suspend CEO Samuel Ouma while inquiries into alleged procurement irregularities in the agency’s purview are conducted.
The agency is in charge of implementing the Water Supply and Sanitation System for the Bomet/Longisa/Mulot towns project.
In letters to the heads of the two boards, the Head of Public Service questioned why the two CEOs are still in office despite the pending investigations.
“Mr Koskei says the inordinate delay in taking action on the part of the board of directors and the ministry is undermining the government’s war against corruption,” read a statement from State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed.
He added their continued stay in office might obstruct the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission’s (EACC) ongoing investigations.
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According to Koskei, the ministry and board of directors’ hesitation to act is harming the government’s fight against corruption.
Thuita is charged with irregularly awarding three contracts totaling billions of shillings between 2012 and 2018.
The first tender awarded was for the design and construction of the Karimenu II dam amounting to Ksh24 billion.
The second one involved the last mile water connectivity in the Tanathi area which cost Ksh720 million.
The final project was the design and construction of the Ruiru II dam at a cost of Ksh26 billion.
EACC had raised concerns over the failure of CS Wahome to suspend CEO Thuita whom they accuse of being involved in the irregular award of multi-billion shillings tender of water projects.
However, the CS responded to the letter by asking for credible information to be provided against the CEO before action was taken.
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